Half Hearted Chronicles II: The Awakening
by MattiTheWizard
Summary: Years have passed, the tragic event regarding her parents lay hidden in the corners of her mind. Felicia goes on a field trip to a nearby hospital and discovers something... The patient opens his eyes, the clock begins ticking. Contains violence and stuff
1. Chapter 1

**HALF HEARTED CHRONICLES**

_As told by MattTheWizard_

**PART II**

**--**

**Chapter 1: Trippin' out**

"For the last time!" The cat roared. "Get out of bed or you'll be late!"

The sun shone so bright that it felt like it melted her blinds. After the cat had finished yelling,  
the only sound you could hear was the low humming of a fan blowing cool air into the room.

It's walls were painted in relaxing yellow and was riddled with pictures, drawn by the room's sole inhabitant.  
A computer and desk were place neatly opposite the bed, the apparels, however, were not.

Laundry, cans and the occasional pizza carton soiled the room and gave it an unclean odor. A few wonder-baums  
had been placed to prevent this once, and that could be the reason why the room was even capable of hosting life.

But as of now, only an immobile creature in a bed churned. School... Feh.

She tried cowering under her blanket, but her conscience got the best of her. The wolf rolled out of bed and  
gathered her bones in front of the mirror.

She had developed some nice curves along time, and now she was actually quite shapely. Her black hair,  
however, did not agree. It rebelliously spurted in all directions.

Felicia McDougal crawled weakly into the shower and emerged as a new person.

She challenged her wardrobe and excavated a red t-shirt with a gun made of glitter on the front, followed by a  
pair of black jeans that were too small last year and squeezed her frame into them.

After this display of gymnastics, she decided to grab some grub. But not before applying black makeup to her less black face.

Now she felt ready for anything.

Well, anything that didn't disturb her morning temper.

"Ah, the queen is alive." Andrew McDougal stated as she made her way downstairs.

"Go away..." She muttered in response and slapped the newspaper he was holding onto his face.  
He removed it emotionlessly, but with a small sigh escaped him.

Their fridge was always well stocked, since Dewie worked for a supermarket chain with lots of leftover goods  
that needed to be taken care of.

Browsing it's shelves, she located milk, vegetables, yesterday's dinner, bottles with sauces, butter and various  
other things fully capable of being eaten by a hungry teenage wolf.

Though, the only thing she found to be valid of her consummation was a can of Pepsi. The sound it made when  
she opened it gave her a pleasant wave of shivers.

She threw herself over the couch and stared at the television for a while.

"That isn't breakfast." Dewie stated flatly.

"Yeah it is." Felicia replied. "I'm drinking it in the morning, eh?"

Dewie sighed again and kept reading the overexposed articles.

"Look, Sonic's on." Felicia said, pointing at the TV. Indeed, there stood the azure hedgehog, waving at his audience  
along with his friends Tails and Knuckles.

Amy was nowhere to be seen, however. She was probably in the crowd somewhere, frantically waving back.

The ARK incident had been all over the news all over the world, just during the last week, and the entire planet had felt  
relief when Sonic managed to stop the crash course it had been on.

Now it was time for his first "press conference", in front of a few million people. Felicia hadn't been on top of the deal,  
but even she was sitting on the edge of her seat as he began talking.

Sonic tapped his mike a few times to check if it was on.

It was.

"Uhh, hello?" He asked.

The crowd responded.

"I just wanna say, thank you all for supporting us!" He raised his hands and everyone cheered.

"We couldn't have done it without you people-deaples! I made that last word up, though..."

"Pfft." Dewie scowled. "Just because you saved the world, you have to make a fool out of yourself?"

"Shh!" Felicia said, tossing her empty can on him. "Maybe he'll..."

"But..." The blue hedgehog sank his head, "I am sorry to say that Shadow didn't make it... He gave his life to  
save us. He wanted to give us the chance he never got himself. So let's have a moment for him, all right?"

The whole world seemed to die of sound. For a few minutes, that's how it remained.

Felicia felt touched by this in a cold, weird way.

"Thank you again." Sonic said and ran off, narrowly evading the crazed fanbase as a reporter took the screen and lost Felicia's interest.

Getting up, she shook the feeling off, grabbed another Pepsi and shoved it down her bag. Which reminded her...

She looked at her watch and swore loudly.

"I'm late!" She screamed, grabbed her things, put on her roller blades and zoomed out the door.

"Don't forget, you're going on a field trip!" But she was already out the door. Dewie sighed a third time.

"She hasn't changed a bit." He sipped his coffee.

The newspaper read "Sonic & co. save the world - Again!"

--

"Hey! Wait!" She screamed for the bus which ignored her and began driving off. "Aw, that's just great." She muttered and began  
rolling after it. Suddenly, an idea struck her.

She smirked devilishly and began rolling faster and faster, until she was just behind the bus.

Preforming a leap of faith, she managed to get a handhold that allowed her to skitch all the way to... wherever this trip was taking her.

After quiate a while it finally pulled to a stop and Felicia's legs reminded her to be there when the bus leaves next time.

She stumbled onto the pavement and collided with someone who just got off. The two looked at each other and began laughing.

"I didn't think you'd make it!" The young cow giggled.

"Well Princess, I've done a lot of harder things a lot easier, eh?" Felicia chuckled switched her blades for a pair of sneakers.

Princess Tilda got up first and offered a hand to her canine friend, who gladly accepted it and they looked up.

They were standing of front of some hospital with an odd name that neither of them wanted to try pronouncing. It was big, and the front doors  
opened and closed rapidly in sync with the people getting in and out. A little to the left was the port for ambulances and transport vehicles.

Luckily, the bus didn't count as transport, so they were out front.

Their teacher, Diane, gathered the class.

"All right boys and girls. Keep it cool." She tried. After a while everybody was quiet enough to take in information.

"I want everyone to follow the guide. No personal scouting around. This goes to you, Felicia." She looked at Felicia, who looked back  
at her as if she didn't understand at all. Diane sighed.

"Is everyone ready? Right, let's go." Diane turned and the class followed obediently.

Inside they were greeted by an uninteresting nurse who began telling the story of the hospital, when it was built, the founders...  
Things that were undeniably coming on the test later, but Felicia and Princess's minds were focused on entirely different things.

Felicia stole a rubber glove from somewhere and slung it at Princess, who grabbed a wheelchair and shoved it at Felicia. She got  
away in time, but the chair tripped over something that made an awfully loud noise, causing the two to run off in different directions  
in order to confuse the personnel chasing them.

An intense run later, Felicia ended up in the long-term ward. She panted heavily and realized she had to hide before they got her.  
She took a left, then a right and a sudden left into a room where she graciously slid underneath the bed and out of sight.

She waited there for about five minutes, until they stopped searching the corridors and she stopped hyperventilating. She peeked  
out her head, judged that the coast was clear and looked around in the room.

On the other side, shielded by a curtain, was another bed likely occupied by someone. The breathing sounded deep and wheezy with  
only and occasional groan, unlike the panting and moaning she was half-expecting.

Her curiosity got to her. She slowly walked over to the bed and pulled the curtain away.

She studied the man in the bed. He looked peaceful but troubled, as if having a nightmare. Another thing she noticed were the  
wings shooting out his back. They were big and probably strong... Once.

Now they looked broken and battered, scars and bruises riddled them both.

_He must be in pain_, she thought,_ that's why he's groaning like that._

Then, she realized he was saying something. Barley intelligible from under his breath, but still...

She leaned closer and listened...

"... sch... oosch..." He uttered faintly. "Rrsch..."

"What are you trying to say?" Felicia whispered, mainly to herself, but you know.

"Roo... sch..." He nearly only breathed the words. "Roosch..."

"Roosch?" Felicia repeated. The pronunciation rung a bell. _Oh, what's the word?_

"Rouge?" She whispered.

"Rouge... !" The bat in the bed's eyes suddenly shot open and he said the name loudly, surprising Felicia and causing her to fall over.

"Rouge?" He suddenly spoke perfectly fine and tried sitting up.

He yelped in sudden pain and fell back into the bed.

"She.. She and I..." He grabbed his head as if trying to keep the thoughts from escaping.

It didn't seem to succeed, as he gave up and sighed loudly.

"Are you awake...?" Felicia uttered slowly.

"Yeah... I guess." He said like he was just as surprised himself. "Where... am I?"

"In a hospital... Hey, what's your name?"

"It's..." He closed his eyes and dug through his disoriented mind. "... I have no idea..."

Felicia looked at him, still a little shocked. His hair was really long and cookie brown. His eyes were sincere, but stern.  
No doubt because he couldn't sort out his head.

He tilted his head over to her.

"You seem... familiar..." He mumbled, searching her eyes and face for remnants of a memory that avoided him the best it could.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met." She replied lowly.

"Hmph." He grunted. "Damn, I have a mean headache..."

"I can understand that..." Felicia said and got an idea. "Hold on, I'll get the nurse."

He didn't reply, but Felicia got up anyway, checked to room number and found a nurse in a nearby coffee room.

"Hey, umm... The patient in room 206 just woke up... Could you get him a-"

"Did you say 206 woke up!?" The nurse blurted out.

"Uhh, yeah...?"

"We thought he was dead! He's been in a coma since we found him a year ago!"

Felicia's jaw dropped. "B- but..."

The nurse hurried past her, calling a doctor on her pager. Felicia followed her back into the room where the coma patient had been. The  
nurse had stopped in her tracks halfway inside. She looked around suspiciously.

"What's the matter?" Felicia asked, not being able to look by her.

"He-" She began. "He's gone."

--

Notes:

First chapter, re introducing our favorite anti-hero and Felicia from HHC 1! If you haven't read it, I recommend you do. Otherwise, you'll probably feel really lost in later chapters.

Matti's back!

/Matti


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: If tomorrow comes**

--

Something had told him to get the hell out of there. What is was that told him he couldn't remember, it was just an undeniable feeling.

Rushing on unsteady legs he hurried into the patient belongings section. He eyed the shelves quickly and stopped at an unmarked one.

He could recall that these were his clothes and nothing beyond that point. The journal he had stolen with him might give him some clues  
later, but right now the important thing was to escape before the personnel came.

Opening a cardboard box, he excavated a pair of boots, tight jeans and a tank top that fit him eerily well.

He looked all over the box, but there was no label with anything else than his patient number on it.

Then he noticed that black leather coat that hung on a metal hook in the shelf... He slowly took it and checked the name tag by the neck.

"M- Matt?" He uttered. Was it his name? It felt familiar to him. A small shock caused him to get slightly nauseous and grab the shelf for support.  
But somehow, he now remembered the name.

"Mattheus.. Griffin..." He mumbled. "Matt..." Suddenly he heard the voices coming from down the hall. Not caring whose name it was,  
he decided to take it for the time being. There's no room for standing around when you're followed, his instincts told him.

Matt's instincts kicked in and he ran towards an open window, threw himself through it and spread his wings.

For some reason, they hurt like hell as he stretched them. He dropped several feet before regaining aerial balance and slowly hovering  
away onto a rooftop.

He turned to look at his wings but realized he shouldn't have when he saw the scars from healed bones that had been broken everywhere  
except their proper direction.

Matt breathed heavily, trying to calm down. _But they looked so horrible, what could've-_

He realized he wouldn't remember anyway and raised his stolen journal to get his mind on other things.

"Male Bat, approx. 25-30 years of age. Comatose state very deep, suggesting long absence. No current injuries, scars and x-ray show  
signs of aged gunshot wounds and several previous fractures all over the body..." He read out loud.

"Wings have suffered from skeletal disorder and muscle death in numerous places... Well, that explains that." He grimaced and kept reading.

"Patient found near waste disposal factory in a state of coma."

"No way of identification except labeled coat found beside patient."

"Blood tests confirm that the patient is otherwise healthy, though no DNA match has been found."

Matt read everything over and over, trying to find a clue. To what? To anything. He had no idea of where he was, when he was, who he was or  
WHY he was. The last question seemed to be sensitive, as he began feeling a headache by thinking about it.

"Also, traces of sublimal machinery waste found in blood tap. Cause and origin unknown."

He put the journal down. Now he began feeling really sick. He stowed the relevant papers away in his coat pocket and eased himself onto the ground.

He sat idle and stared into the horizon, over the rooftops and buildings, waiting for his brain to adjust. The world still seemed to spin slightly,  
although it had slowed down considerably since getting fresh air.

Speaking of air, he felt the need of something. Something between his lips. Something hazardous and stupid.

He remembered smoking clearly, which gave him a wave of hope. At least he remembered _something_.

His hands reached for the inside pocket of his coat and found a pack. He excavated one and balanced it on his lip.

Picking out the lighter, he ignited the stick.

And with a small "schwuff" sound the entire thing turned to ash. Wow, that one was really dry. Probably old too-

Wait. If it was old, then maybe he could find out how long he had been in the coma...

Matt pulled out the pack again and looked for the date stamp. He found it and memorized it.

"Great. Now I just gotta find out what date it is today." He began looking around the rooftop in search of something with a more recent date.

He found a soda can which seemed fairly new. Looking at the bottom he made a cruel discovery.

"This can't be right..." He compared the two stamps one more time. "... Five years!?"

With a wave of pity for himself, he collapsed onto the ground.

"Five whole years... Have I been away that long...?" He mumbled. "No, It's probably just an old pack. Yeah, that's-"

Suddenly, a door clicked open behind him. He instinctively shot to his feet and turned around.

"Whoa, hold your horses, man." The ox said. He was equally tall with Matt, but probably a little stronger, so hand-to-hand was out of the question.

Matt needed to find a weapon, but he couldn't-

"Why are you looking at me like you're gonna try and kill me?" The unknown asked, smiling friendlishly.

"Sorry." Matt apologized. "I'm just a little jumpy, I guess."

"You the guy who ran away from the hospital?" He asked.

"Might be. How come?"

"Well, they came 'round and knocked on my door, askin' if I've seen a tall bat just now."

"I presume you hadn't?" Matt said, walking a few steps closer.

"No, I hadn't. I have now though." He said. "Maybe I should call them..."

"Maybe you won't." Matt suggested.

"Really?" The ox asked, still smiling. "What'cha gonna do about it, cripples?"

"I might kick your ass." Matt said flatly, realizing he had no idea what he was saying. He discarded the feeling.

"Oh... Well then. That settles it. I won't call." The ox replied ironically.

"Great. Then let's go inside, it's getting cold out here." Matt walked past him into the apartment behind.

The ox stopped for a while, staring into nowhere before saying;

"Sure, come on inside."

--

"This looks cozy." Matt said, studying the small flat the ox lived in.

"That's just the covers. It's a real mess underneath."

"I figured as much." Matt said, opening a closet. "Where's the contraband?"

"What?" The ox looked at him dumbfoundedly, frowning slightly at the sight of a stranger causing havoc amongst his things.

"Well, since you won't call the cops on me, there's gotta be something illegal in here."

"I may just be doing you a favor, you know."

"Whatever, I won't tell on you. Now where's your dirty lil' secret?" Matt said, opening a cupboard.

"Dude, stop rummaging my pad. It's in the basement."

"What's in the basement?" Matt asked.

"Why should I tell you? We just met." The ox stated, smiling for no apparent reason.

"Yeah, but we're friends, right... ?" Matt snickered at him.

"K. Call me K."

"O Kay." Matt just _had_ to say.

"Yes, yes. Very witty." They both chuckled.

"You know, I think you and I are gonna get along just fine." Matt snickered again, finding a box full of small firearms.

"Think that's good? Wait 'til you see the real thing." K smiled. "But for now, how about some coffee?"

--

After having been questioned to death by the staff, Felicia felt drained. This had been a weird day.

She followed the sings to the entry, where the rest of the class had gathered, including Princess.

"There you are! Where did you go?" She asked giddily, as if not noticing how tired Felicia was.

"Trust me, I'll tell you later." Felicia said, yawning. "It's a long story."

The ugly yellow bus came around and the youngsters got on.

Felicia placed herself as far back as she could and fell asleep almost immediately.

--

"_Uh, Hi Mom! I just wanna tell you that I'm bringing a friend over today and... well, I hope you and dad are all right. See ya!"_

_She felt a little better._

"_Come on, let's hurry home." She said, and they both chased each other._

_As they got closer the uneasy feeling kept growing, both when a red car drove by them like it was fueled by liquid lightning and  
when she saw the door to her house wide open, she turned pale and ran towards it. She knew her father had been doing things  
he thought she didn't know about but they couldn't be that serious-_

_Her thoughts were cut short when she was stopped in the doorway by her neighbor, a cat named Andrew. His eyes were filled with  
horror and his hands had sinister red stains on them._

"_Felicia, call an ambulance!" He ordered her. She picked up her phone and dialed the number that she had learned was only used  
when there was an emergency. She told the operator everything he asked for; name, address, what happened, don't hang up, we're on our way etc._

"_...Dewie?" She ran up to her neighbor and tugged his bloody sleeve. In the corner of her eye she could see Tilda frozen with fear.  
Felicia beckoned for her to come over._

"_Felicia, I..." Andrew began crying. "I couldn't... There was nothing I could do..."_

_He knelt down and held them both as they all cried. They embraced like that until the ambulance and police car came, then Andrew  
explained that he had to talk to the policemen, and that they should go and wait in his house._

_The two children were both pale like winter when they kicked their shoes off in his hall. They walked two steps in before Felicia broke down._

"_My parents are dead!" She screamed as loud as her lungs allowed. "Why, dad? Why!?" Somehow, she just knew that it had somethin  
to do with her fathers' shady business._

"_How can you know that?" Tilda asked through tears._

"_I just do!"_

"_Felicia, wake up."_

_Wait, that doesn't belong here..._

"_Wakey wakey!"_

_Huh?_

"**You wanna miss your stop?!**

--

Felicia blinked the dream from her eyes and tried to focus on Princess.

"Ugh... Sorry. Must've fallen asleep..."

"No shit? You slept like a log the entire way home."

Felicia picked up her bag, said goodbye to Princess and slowly walked the stairs up to Dewie's apartment.

Another dream about her parents. Hmph. She could never remember them, no matter how much she tried. Something appeared  
to have blocked off those exact memories... All she knew was that she'd been living with Dewie for the last years.  
Life was rolling it's way, with or without he memories.

She found her stop, inserted the key into the lock an turned it. It clicked back and she opened the door.

Dewie had left a note on the counter again. She picked it up.

"_Sorry, Felicia, but I gotta work overtime... Again, yeah I know. Hope the trip was fun. Call me if there's any problem. Thanks! "_

She smiled at the note.

After a short stumble up the stairs, she threw away her things as well as her clothes and squeezed her way beneath the sheets.

Before she fell asleep, she decided to do something she hadn't done for years.

She picked up her phone and sent a short message to Dewie, just to let him know she was OK.

However, she didn't remember if she managed to send it before falling asleep...

--

His phone beeped. This was unusual, he thought as he picked it up.

"_1 New message: Felicia cell" _It read. He clicked a button and chuckled at the small screen.

"_Hey ddwie. Jst wnna ray im aliue. Byd"_

"Anything you want to share with the rest of us, 105?" The boss asked.

"No, sir. Sorry sir." Dewie replied and refocused his attention at the meeting.

He did feel lucky for not getting yelled at more though. Standard rule of the GUN policy are no cell phones during meetings.

--

NOTES

Hey hey!

How do you like the story so far? I personally think that this could end up about as good as it's predecessor.

Lots of new characters, by the way. Or at least evolution of older ones.

If anything seems awkward, just let me know and I'll try to fix it up.

See ya!

/_MattiTheWizard_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Switchblade, the Neighbor, the Fan**

--

"So you're a gunrunner and you fix stolen cars." Matt stated.

"Yep." K replied, putting another lump of sugar in his coffee.

"How do you hold up? Don't you have a day job?"

"Nah, there's always business." K smiled. "There's always someone's 'borrowed' car that needs a new paint job."

"Well, at least the world didn't change while I was gone." Matt muttered.

"What was that?" K lifted one of his ears.

"Oh nothing. Just muttering, that's all." Matt said flatly. "So, you live here by yourself?"

"Nah, got my sis here too." K said, looking at his watch. "She'll be home any minute."

"She cool?" Matt asked.

"She doesn't know about the nasty stuff, just that I hang out with shady guys like you."

"Aww, how sweet of you." Matt joked. "I'm sure your parents are proud."

K's mood seemed to hit rock bottom at the mention of his parents. Matt noticed this and remembered that he had a big mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's ok, just... don't talk about it, ok?"

"Sure."

Thankfully, the door opened, killing the awkward silence before it began. Through it came a young cow, with long ears and hair,  
with a startling resemblance to K. _Must be his sister._ Matt thought.

She closed the door behind her and looked at the two.

"Hey sis." K said sweetly.

"Hey hey!" She looked over K at Matt in the sofa. "Who's...?"

"Oh, that's Matt." K said. "He's... Uhh..."

"I'd rather not know." She smiled and began heading for her room. "I'm gonna go to bed, so be a little quiet, all right?"

She slammed the door before either of them could answer.

Then came the awkward silence.

Matt mentally cursed at the silence winning again. You can never outsmart silence.

"What do_ you_ do?" K asked, sitting down again.

"Umm..." Matt replied. "You know what? It's late, I should be getting... home."

"Huh? All right, if you feel that way." K said. "See ya."

"Yeah." Matt finished, before closing the door behind him.

-

Two minutes afterward, Matt realized he had nowhere to sleep.

He walked aimlessly around in the streetlight-illuminated night. This made him feel a certain degree of familiarity, he knew he'd  
walked around like this a lot before.

His head worked on sorting out the scattered remains of his memory, but nothing but a few words and pictures came up.  
Most of these were too short or sublime to make sense. Some stuck out more than others, though. Especially one.

"Why does the word 'dead' keep coming back?" Matt thought aloud.

"'Cause I'm right behind you." A cold voice replied. Matt stopped for a second.

"You gonna try to rob me?" He asked without turning around.

"That, or you could just give us the money and save the effort."

"How many of you are there?"

"Three." Whoever it was answered.

"Since the rule of three applies here, it's just you." Matt stated. "Go away. I'm not in the mood for fighting."

Hopefully he would leave, if not... _Do I _know_ how to fight, anyway?_

"Screw you! Die!" The man lunged with some sort of knife and hit Matt in the side.

"Ugh!" Matt fell down on his knees, holding his wound.

"Hell with the money, I'm just gonna kill you!" The ape, as it turned out to be, yelled and readied his weapon,  
a formidable switchblade.

Just as he was about to strike again, Matt mule-kicked him in the place where it hurts the most.

The ape squealed and fell over while Matt got up.

"That's... what you get." Matt panted. _Damn, he got me good._

Matt gave him a (not so)friendly kick in the face, planting the taste of his motorcycle boots in the ape's mind forever.

He picked up the switchblade and tucked it in his coat. _This'll be useful. I think..._

The pain was getting worse and now he was staggering along the sidewalk without a clue of where he was headed.  
The headlights of a car shone in front of him and the car itself seemed familiar...

Pain making him slightly delirious, he thought the car was heading for him and jumped to the side.

He failed the landing, however, and fell face first into a wall.

"Oh god, are you all right?" A nervous someone asked behind him asked.

"I'm... fine. Just... a little... bruised." Matt tried, but seeing the blood on his coat he realized this wouldn't work out.

"We gotta get you to a hospital!" The cat, who looked strangely familiar as well said, grabbing a hold of Matt and ushering him towards the car.

Matt suddenly snapped to his senses.

"No! Not the hospital!" He yelled.

"What? Why not?! You're losing blood fast and-"

He was cut short by the feel of a knife against his throat.

"Drive... home." Matt limped.

The cat gulped. "A- alright."

Matt crashed into the backseat and didn't want to get up. The cat got in and began driving, a low, cozy tune filling the air.

The bat's eyes fell together and refused to open. The pain was easing up, but that was probably just the endorphins.

After near an eternity they pulled to a stop and Matt jolted awake.

"We're here. Can you walk?" The cat asked, helping Matt out of the vehicle.

"Yeah..." Matt said, stumbling onto his driver. "... No."

The cat grabbed him and began leading him through the big car park. The escalated a flight of stairs and stopped at a door.

"Ok, I'll go get the bandage. Lay down on the couch." He said and went off into the apartment.

Matt limped inside and found his way to a sofa. It was red and soft to the touch, not to mention inviting for someone to lie on it,  
but Matt didn't want to stain it, so he let himself down on the coffee table instead.

It creaked painfully, but held up. The cat returned and helped Matt remove his coat and top. Both needed washing from the  
blood that had stained them.

Matt looked at the cat as he was patching him together. What was so familiar about him?

"Hey..." Matt asked. The cat looked up at him.

Matt's eyes widened. _The cat, he..._

"**It's HIM!**"Matt screamed loudly, causing the poor guy to stumble backwards and flip over the couch.

"You, you're... The neighbor!" Matt exclaimed, pointing at him.

"Wh- what?" The cat asked, rubbing his sore head.

"Your car, your face... You haven't lived here for long, right?"

"Uh, five years?"

Matt felt dizzy. The world spun around as a part of his lost memory returned.

"Are you ok?" He asked worryingly. "Maybe I should call-"

"No, no problem." Matt slurred, making it sound like "Ngh, Nuh scbllm."

"Jus' needa sleep..." Matt continued, fainting onto the couch.

The cat stared at the sleeping bat for a while.

"What the heck is going on?" He rubbed his head again and thanked heaven he got the bleeding stopped. Imagine those stains!

--

Felicia yawned and stretched on her bed. Another day dawned outside her window and urged her to get up.

She didn't want to. At all.

_Oh well, at least it's not school on Saturdays! _She figured and rolled onto the floor.

After standing up, she headed down the stairs in search of Pepsi. She went over to the TV and grabbed to remote.  
She flicked on a channel and sat down.

The sofa felt a little uncomfortable, but so does everything during the mornings. Then she noticed her hand was red.

_Blood?_ But she couldn't remember getting a cut... Looking down, she saw that the remote was, along with the table,  
hosting stains of dried blood.

Someone had tried to wipe it up, but hadn't gotten all of it, apparently.

The sofa groaned. Felicia slowly, so slowly looked at it and realized that she was sitting on a pile of half-naked bat  
with a bandage.

She shrieked and jumped away, tipping the entire couch over while doing so. The bat shot to his feet with a frightened  
look on his face.

"Dammit, woman! Are you trying to kill-" His face changed as he recognized her. "Oh. It's... you."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Felicia asked, more scared than angry. Matt shrugged.

"I think your dad helped me. See?" Matt pointed at the bandage striped across his torso.

"My dad? You mean Dewie?"

"Yeah, probably. A cat."

Felicia nodded and looked down. Silence.

"The hospital people were looking for you."

"I know. I kinda... ran off."

Felicia smiled. "So you wake up from a year long coma and the first thing you do is run away?"

"Yeah." Matt smirked.

"Hehe, cool." Felicia giggled.

Matt rubbed his head and looked away. A thought struck him.

"Wait, you said a year long coma?"

"Uh huh. That's what the nurse told me."

"But... I've been out for _five_ years..." Matt scratched his chin, feeling an amount of beard on it that he swore he couldn't remember having.

"Gee, that's a long time to be gone..." Felicia agreed. "But where were you?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out... That and who I am..." Matt stated solemnly.

"You can't remember who you _are_?" Felicia's eyes widened.

"Well, no..."

She giggled childishly. "This is far out, man!"

"Excuse me?"

"Can I help you? You know, like a team!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down! I've just met you."

"Please? I swear I'll be helpful!" She tried.

"No." Matt said flatly, extinguishing the flare in her eyes. This conversation gave Matt that feeling of recalling something again...

"Pretty please?"

Matt sighed. "I... don't know. It just feels weird."

Felicia lowered her ears. Matt looked at her and felt guilty.

He sighed again, this time heavier.

"All right..."

"YES!" She yelled, jumping into the air. "Where do we start?"

"Well... Ahh..." They both got quiet and thought.

"Name?" Matt asked. "I'm Matt... I think."

"Felicia McDougal." She said, shaking his hand and remembering a certain thing.

"Oh yeah." She continued. "Before you woke up, you kept saying somebody's name... Rouge?"

The word caused Matt's eyes to black out for a second. He fell to his knees and grabbed his head. Felicia rushed over to him.

"Damn... I can't... remember..." Matt grunted.

"Hey, don't pass out on me!" Felicia said, heading towards him.

"Why do I remember her so strongly? She and I..." Matt stood up.

A voice came from across the hall.

"Felicia? Are you up?"

"We're here, Dewie." Felicia replied, standing up as well.

"Oh, here you- Aw, Felicia! Put some clothes on!" Dewie covered his eyes and looked away.

She looked down and saw she was only wearing her tiny KISS t-shirt and male underwear. Matt must've realized this just now as well,  
as he had turned away and was chuckling slightly.

"Screw you guys." She sighed and went up the stairs.

Matt went over to the couch and picked up his clothing before thanking Dewie.

"What, leaving already?" Dewie asked.

"I did threaten you to death yesterday, you know. Maybe we'll meet again, hopefully under different circumstances." Matt said.

"Now if you excuse me, I have a certain someone to track down."

Dewie nodded and watched Matt leave. Just as Dewie closed the door behind him, Felicia came down the stairs.

"I can't believe you- Hey, where's Matt?" She asked.

"Hmm? Oh, he left just a while ago. Said he had to find someone-" Before he could finish the sentence, Felicia had thrown her shoes on and gone out the door.

--

NOTES:

I like this story. I can take it anywhere I want ;)

Please read and review for your own best, people!

Or I'll hunt you down and make helium out of you. So be it.'

Seriously. Review.

/Matti


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Monkey Business**

--

"I can't believe you're actually watching a chesss game."

"It's fun, really." The viridian hedgehog stated. "Trains your mind."

"But I can't ssstand it! Ssso much thinking." His lizard companion replied.

"And that's why you don't do any of the mission planning, Drake." The hedgehog retorted, closing his computer.

"Pfft." Drake uttered.

"Hey, here's a question for you." A purple-feathered bird added. "If a rooster laid an egg on a rooftop, which way will it roll?"

Drake pondered this for a moment.

"Left." Then he thought again. "No, right... Or maybe? Left is... But right..."

"Gee thanks, Storm. Now he'll never stop polluting the air with stupidities."

Storm the Bird chuckled and the phone rang.

"Yep?" The hedgehog answered. "Oh, hi chief. No I haven't... She's at it again? Oh great. We'll be right there."

"Mission?" Storm asked as she walked up to her teammate.

"Trici's goons were spotted smuggling bijouteries to a warehouse at the harbor."

"Hmm. I wonder if she'll ever give up."

"Probably not." The hedgehog said, reaching for his jacket. "When the money begins rolling in that fast, you don't want it to slow down."

"How philosophical, Turbo." Storm smiled at him.

"You coming, Drake?" Turbo called back at his red lizard friend.

"Right!" He replied and came running over to them. "That'sss where it'll go. I think..."

Turbo rolled his eyes.

"This is gonna be a looong trip."

--

"Where the hell did he go?" Felicia asked herself, looking around for a pair of big wings but finding none.  
She jumped onto a bench but found no better result. Heaving a sigh she hopped off and began walking home.

She was looking down and when she bumped into something big. Felicia fell onto the ground but was pulled to her feet by a pair of strong arms.

"Watch where you're going, dammit!" The cat roared at her. Her clothes were baggy and her hair was white and spiky, like her fur.  
She was well built and had an angry look on her face. Her shirt had the logo for "In Utero" by Nirvana on it.

"You watch where YOU'RE going!" Felicia replied, venting her anger.

"Now you're asking for it, doggie!" The cat threw a punch at her but another arm, belonging to neither of them, stopped it. Felicia turned to  
see her attacker's twin sister, slightly slimmer with long, wavy black hair and a tight dress.

"Izzy! Shame on you!" The other cat scolded her twin. "Apologize. Now!"

"But, she walked into ME!" Izzy, the white haired one defended herself.

"No I didn't!" Felicia said.

"Ah, fuck this." Izzy scowled and walked off.

"I'm sorry for my sister's behavior." The other twin apologized and introduced herself as Fluff.

"Well, I gotta go follow her before she kills someone... again." Fluff added solemnly and bid farewell to Felicia.

"Wait a second." A thought struck Felicia. "Do you know a woman named Rouge?"

"Oh yeah, she works at a bar of some sort called Bad Luck. A short bat with white hair, can't miss her." Fluff smiled.

"Thanks!" Felicia waved her off again and smirked.

_Now I got info._ She thought. _He's gotta let me help him now!_

She walked three steps before another thought popped up.

_...As soon as I find him._

--

He had left her behind because he couldn't take responsibility for another person in his current state.

At least that's what he told himself. Having used her for info felt bad, as did lying to her about joining him,  
but he just didn't feel ready or strong enough.

The cab rolled along slowly. He'd asked the driver to take him to a café, cause he really needed coffee right now.

"That'll be-" Before the cabbie could finish the sentence, Matt was out the door and faaar away. The cabbie rolled off,  
cursing all the way back to the station.

Meanwhile, Matt panted the exhaustion out of his lungs.

"Damn, I'll bring money next time." He groaned, turning back around the corner and confirming that the coast was clear.  
To his east was a café.

It was crowded with people, but no-one seemed to be eating or ordering.

Matt raised and eyebrow and made his way towards it's entry. Upon opening the door, a small "Whoa" escaped him as he  
realized that the place was completely STOCKED with people.

Everyone was elbowing their way around and trying to make enough room to stand. They seemed to be aiming for the same  
direction, a table at the corner. Suddenly a mild voice spoke above them.

"Look, one question each, OK people?"

_That voice..._ Matt thought. _Where have I heard that before?_

He listened closer and managed to make out what some people were saying, at least...

"... so Sonic here's-..."

"Sonic's the best..."

"I just came for Sonic..."

"Who the hell is Sonic?" Matt asked out loud. The audience gasped and turned around, gazing at Matt who shrugged nervously.

"You don't KNOW?" Someone said.

"Uhh, no." Matt replied, scratching his neck.

"Wait a second..." The mild voice from before said. The crowd began moving and forming a way for someone to walk over to Matt.

A blue hedgehog, wearing red shoes walked up to him and looked him in the eye.

"You gotta be kidding me..." He said seriously. Matt shivered at what he might've done to this one.

"Matt! Where've ya been?" The hedgehog grabbed Matt's hand and shook it heavily.

"Umm, away?" Matt tried, looking dumbfounded.

"Don't you remember? It's me, Sonic!"

A bell rang in Matt's head.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember. You were just a kid last time I saw you." Matt smiled at his memories.

Sonic let go of Matt's hand and motioned for him to come and sit.

"This is my bro, Tails." Sonic jerked a thumb at Tails, a yellow-ish fox with two tails. He waved at Matt and smiled.

"And that over there is Knuckles." Sonic repeated the motion at a red echidna in the corner, who didn't seem to like the attention from the bystanders.

The echidna's red fur knocked on Matt's brain, but he subdued it and sat down. his dreadlocks also rang a bell, but Matt could'nt make any sense of it.

"This is Matt, guys. Dad and I used to hang out with him a few years ago."

"Hi." The bat greeted them and their audience.

"Did you know that Matt's the one who gave me my name?" Everyone in the mass of people went "Ooh".

After lying about where he'd been, what he'd been doing and such, Matt began feeling bad and decided to leave. He shook hands with  
half the world, it seemed, before managing to exit the crowded place.

Night had begun falling and the sky was colored deep orange from the sunset. Matt didn't want to stroll around again, at least not with his  
current wound still healing as a reminder.

So when a limousine slowly drove up beside him, he accepted the ride.

Inside, a young tigress sipped a glass of champagne accompanied with two people, which were so ugly Matt hoped they were her bodyguards.

"Well, well, well..." Trici began, throwing a mischievous smile. "Where are you headed?"

"I dunno. A hotel would be fine." Matt shrugged. "Do you always pick up hobos and drive them around?"

"Oh, you're no hobo are you... Right, Mattheus?"

Matt froze, then shivered.

"What do you know about me?" He demanded. "Tell me."

"Let's start a little slower." She replied coolly. "My name is Trici."

"Great. Now that we've gotten to know each other-"

"I know a lot about you, Mr. Mattheus."

"Call me Matt. Now tell me-"

"Impatient, are we?" Trici said, putting her glass down. "Care for a drink?"

"No, and cut the bull- Wait, yes I do. Pour me one." Matt changed.

He downed it in one gulp and put the glass back.

"There. Happy now?"

"Why the haste?" Trici snaked over to the couch Matt was in. Matt pressed himself into the corner. "I got some things that need doing. You know, a job."

"Please, get to the point. What do you want from me?" He tried.

Trici ignored his remark and crawled onto him. He was beginning to feel a tiny bit uncomfortable now.

"Look, get off or I'll-"

"You'll what, hmm? Kill me? Leave the car?" She tickled his chin. "Then you'll lose the only chance of filling your blank memory."

Matt shuddered at this humiliation. He desperately wanted to know what she knew, but was this really worth it?

He sighed. "Go ahead, I'm listening..."

She slid off him and glared.

"Some idiot ratted on my business at the harbors. I want you to get down there and make sure none of it gets disturbed,  
understand?" Her tone changed from seductive to demanding.

"What's the pay?" Matt asked blankly.

"A piece of my mind." She smirked in a way that made Matt nauseous.

"Whatever. I'll do it." He said, waving an arm. "When will we meet again?"

"Don't worry your cute little head about that..." Trici purred. The only thing making it hard for Matt to ignore her was her spectacular appearance.

She was curvy, had freezing blue eyes and wavy blond hair cascading like a river down her back. Her red dress left little to the imagination,  
and reminded more of a piece of cloth rather than a piece of cloth_ing_.

The car pulled to a soft break and the door opened next to Matt. He hurried out.

"See you soon, honeybuns." Trici blew a kiss at him as they drove off.

Matt looked around and stated that he was down by the docks. Now he just had to find the gear she was talking about...

_This whole job thing seems awkwardly familiar,_ Matt thought. _Have I worked for Trici before? No, She's too young. Hasn't been in the business long enough. Still..._

He peeked round the corner and saw a warehouse, just like she mentioned. Matt went inside and dismissed the thought of what might  
be in the boxes, because he'd rather not know.

An idea struck him and he began looking for empty crates as part of his plan.

--

"Are you sure this is the right way, Drake?" Turbo asked his backseated friend.

"No, the right way isss left." Drake replied.

"But, you were saying right every time I asked before?"

"No, that'sss where the egg isss gonna roll. But then again..."

"Arggh!" Turbo growled and began reversing. After another 10 minutes they finally arrived at the scene.

All three of them stepped out and looked around.

"Keep your heads down guys, we don't know what to expect." Turbo ordered as they crept closer to the docks.

The only thing they could make out were the sounds of feet and boxes being placed. Turbo looked at Drake and nodded, motioning for  
him to scout ahead. Drake climbed the building and jumped a few roofs soundlessly.

Some minutes later, he returned and shook his head.

"Jussst one guy."

"Well, this just got a whole lot easier. Come on!" Turbo commanded, storming around the corner.

When they reached the building, the tall bat inside dropped a box and put his hands in the air.

"Don't shoot." He stated more like a command than a request.

"If you tell me what's going on here." Turbo replied in the same tone. The bat smirked and opened one of the boxes.

"What the heck?" Turbo wondered, as he noticed that the box was empty.

"This is just a storeroom for boxes." The bat waved over the crates. "Nothin' in them."

"I'm stumped." Turbo turned to Storm and Drake, and shrugged heavily.

The three began walking away. Stupid false alarm. Suddenly, the bat caught up with them.

"Hey, do you guys know any cheap hotels? I'm uhh... quitting, for the night." He said slowly.

Storm looked at Turbo before asking; "Don't you have a home?"

The bat looked down and scratched his hair. "No."

"Turbo," Storm whispered. "Don't you think he can stay at HQ for the night?"

"What? But we hardly know him?" Turbo answered.

"What's your name?" Storm asked the bat politely.

"Name's Matt. Least that's what people call me."

Turbo pondered for a while. Then pondered some more before finally deciding...

"All right, but only tonight. You're gone in the morning, right?"

"You bet. Thanks!" Matt walked up beside them and followed them to their car.

--

Notes:

So now Matt's been in contact with both the "good" and "evil" sides. Question is, which one will he choose; The one he's familiar with or the newer, stranger one where people care for you, and you for them?

Trici. Anyone remember the name? Any HHC followers will know. But not enough, just yet ;)

This story is shaping up to become pretty good. Any tips on what you'd like to see are very welcome, you can post them as a PM to me or as a review to this story. Depends on your mood :)

PLEASE PEOPLE! Reviewing isn't that hard, it makes me happy, it's free and you don't even have to log in to do it! Pretty please, Click the button below.

And get a cookie.

If you don't you get a slap.

/Matti


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: I know, I'll never forget**

--

Matt awoke in the same exotically themed room he'd fallen asleep in. The bed was comfortable, but the walls were covered in pictures from some sort of island.

All of them featured a woman of echidna race, baring a striking resemblance to Knuckles. As a matter of fact, Knuckles was on some of the photos. Perhaps they were related?

Matt yawned and stretched his sore wings carefully. The cut he'd received to the gut had stopped aching, but still hurt at certain angles.

Making his way out of the room, he noticed the bird woman from yesterday. He'd never had a real chance of getting to know them before, since he crashed into bed almost immediately after arriving... wherever he was.

"Good morning." She smiled. "Sleep well?"

"I don't know..." Matt rubbed his head, realizing how stupid his answer had been. "Got an aspirin?"

"Uhh, sure. Come with me to the kitchen." She began walking the same way she was headed before Matt came out. He followed behind her, noting the graceful movements and dashingly white wings.

The reached the kitchen and Matt took a seat as she went to fetch a glass of water and the headache pill.

He couldn't help but wonder where he was. The place looked like some sort of facility, with metallic walls reeking of headquarters.

_This is a hideout, _Matt figured. _But to whom?_

The green hedgehog from yesterday came from the same corridor Matt had walked a minute ago.

"What a great morning." He stated. Matt couldn't tell whether he was being ironic or not.

"Yeah, I kinda noticed." Matt replied, propping his feet on the table.

"So, how do you like it here?" The hedgehog asked politely, repeating Matt's motion.

"Well, It's very cozy, but what're you hiding?"

"You catch on quick." He replied, chuckling lightly. "This is our headquarters and base of command."

"So I see." Matt said, arching an eyebrow. "But who are you?"

"We are the Enforcers, a kind of mercenary squad working for the law."

"Federal hitmen?"

"No, no. The police usually call us in when they don't want to risk any men." He explained.

"I totally understand what you mean." Matt truly did, but didn't know why. "How many of you are there?"

"Well, Storm's the lieutenant and second in command..." As he said this, Storm appeared with the pills Matt had "ordered". He took them both at the same time without water.

"How's the headache?" Storm asked Matt, who nodded.

"Easing up, thanks to you." He snickered and she blushed slightly. Turbo coughed politely and regained Matt's attention.

"Then there's Drake, a... well, special kid." Turbo shrugged. "At any rate, he's fast and silent."

"You mean silent and deadly." Matt filled.

"Oh, he couldn't hurt a fly. Unless the fly hurt him first, of course."

"That's true." Storm filled in. All three smiled.

"And who else? Oh yeah. Trish. She's strong. Very strong." The hedgehog tried finding better words, but that's all he came up with. "You slept in her room. She's on vacation right now."

"You know, I kinda figured that." Matt said, scratching his chin and once again got astonished by his goatee. "I'm just wondering, who are _you_?"

"Me? My name is Joseph, but call me Turbo." Turbo said.

"That's an odd name." Matt stated. "Are you fast like Sonic?" He remarked ironically.

"No, The chief of police began calling him that because he has a knack for making snap descicions." Storm smiled at him.

"How about you then, Mr. Matt?" Turbo asked. "What do you do for a living?"

Matt thought for a while.

"Nothing, really. I'm a good shot, though." _I think, _Matt added to himself.

"Really? How good?" Storm asked.

"Well..." _Dammit, how good am I actually? What the hell. _"I can hit a person 10 yards away... with my eyes closed."

Both oohed.

"But, I'm not sure I can prove it to you." Matt said emptily.

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't got a gun."

"We have plenty 'round here." Turbo said.

"Yeah well, It can't be just any gun." Matt tried to drop the subject.

"What specific one would you need?" Turbo questioned, leaning over the table.

Matt realized that he was talking to an expert and leaned in closer as well.

"A .44 Colt Python?"

"It's yours if you help us." Turbo said, leaning away.

"Wait, who said I was gonna help you?" Matt realized. "I was just talking about by gun."

"Yeah, I guess." Turbo sighed. "It's just that our last gunman, Karlos, lost in a duel to one of Trici's subordinates."

"That sucks..." _Wait a second... _"Hey, did you say Trici?"

"Umm, yes." Turbo replied. "Wait, you know her?"

"Yes and no." Matt began, and explained the situation. "... So I don't know what she knows about me, but I need to know."

"Five years, that's a long time to be gone..." Storm said sadly.

"If that's the case, We'll help you out." Turbo stood up. "We have to get to Trici and confront her."

"But she never stays in one place." Storm pointed out. "We can't seem to pinpoint her."

"Maybe I can." Matt looked up. "She doesn't know about this and us. Maybe if I play along, she'll take me the wherever she calls home. When I get there..."

"... We can rush in and get her." Turbo added, hammering his fist into his palm.

"But you gotta be careful not to blow your cover, Matt." Storm warned. "If anything goes wrong... We've seen what she can do. It's nothing nice."

Matt shivered.

"You have to find a safe place to stay where we can reach you. Someplace usual and indistinctive."

Matt thought about his options. The picture of a wolf appeared. "I think I know a place..."

"Great." Turbo said.

"You can reach us with this number." Storm added, handing Matt a note with a number scribbled on it. "Call if anything happens."

"You bet. I'll be seeing you." Matt got up and shook hands with them.

As he left, Turbo and Storm looked at each other.

"Do you think this is a good idea, Storm?" Turbo asked apprehensively.

Storm patted his back. "Yeah, I think he's just the lead we need to get Trici for good."

"Hmm." Turbo put his face in his palms and realized... "Wait, how's he supposed to get home?"

He went over to the window and saw Matt slowly walking the road away from the complex. Turbo chuckled to himself.

"That's one proud man. Doesn't have a clue where he is, but won't even go back to ask for a ride." He smiled.

"Just who we need."

--

Felicia closed the last phone book. Out of all the addresses and numbers, there was absolutely no trace of Matt. She sighed reluctantly, sliding deeper into her seat.

She'd looked all over town for him, searching every nook and cranny, gotten thrown out of every bar, and yelled at by every drunk. She had finally given up and retreated home, knowing that she'd missed her shot.

She heaved another sigh. Now that she had some actually valuable info, he was nowhere to be found.

"Damn, where'd he go?" She mumbled. _I guess if he's been gone for five years he'd be used to not being around but... He did leave me hanging. Sorta._

She spun around on her chair a few laps, getting dizzy and falling off. When she got up, her world was still spinning. It even looked like Matt was standing in the doorway.

"Wow. That'd just be unreal." She said out loud. "I've been looking for him all over, and then he just appears at my door."

"Excuse me?" He replied.

"Great, now my illusion's talking to me. Have you seen a tall bat around here?" She asked ironically.

"I'm standing right here." Matt said, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah right." Her world slowed down, and she began to realize... "Wait, are you _real_?"

"I... think so?"

She slowly walked over to him and pinched his cheek.

"Ouch! Hey, that hurts."

"Good god!" She cried, jumping onto him. "I thought you were gone forever!"

"Well, I wish I was now..." He said, finding it hard to breathe with a wolf on his chest.

"I found out some info." Felicia said, getting off him and fetching a piece of paper where she'd written the address of Bad Luck and Rouge.

"What does this mean?" Matt asked, eyeing the note.

"I found out about Rouge. She works at the club written right there!" Felicia smiled happily.

Matt raised his eyebrows. "Gee, uhh... Thanks."

"No problem. Glad to help." She said. "What's your next move?"

"Well uhh..." Matt uttered. "I... Don't know, really." He said, sitting down on her bed.

"Why did you come back anyway?" Felicia asked. "Did you miss me?" She smirked.

"Hardly." Matt replied, making Felicia poke her tongue out at him.

"What I really came for was to ask if I could live here for a while." Matt pressed out.

Felicia shone up. "Of course!"

"Dewie said it was OK if I asked you, since I'll be using your pillows."

"What, mine? Can't he give one up?"

"Guess not." Matt snatched one from his side but Felicia dove in and grabbed the rest.

"No more!" She protested. "The rest belong to ME!"

"We'll see about that, kid!" Matt challenged, smashing her in the face with the one he'd taken.

She gasped and retorted. The pillow fight soon escalated to a pillow _war_, with small feathers flying everywhere.

At last, Matt took one too many pillows to the head and fell.

"Noo! I won't die! I CAN'T DIE!" He screamed. Felicia threw herself over his makeshift barricade, frantically yelling;

"FALCOOON PILLOW!" As the force of her cushion struck Matt, Dewie came into the room and yelped in fear.

"FELICIA!"

And the world exploded.

--

"Look, I'm sorry for the whole pillow thing." Matt began. "I'll replace it."

"You'd better." Dewie sneered.

Felicia came in with the now emptied wastebasket, previously used to transport feathers from her room to the trash.

"OK, OK. I promise it won't happen again." Matt raised his hands as a sign of giving up. Dewie looked at him seriously and went back to his bedroom.

"Damn, I sure messed up this time." Matt sighed.

"Don't sweat it, worse things have happened." Felicia comforted him.

They sat down and Matt told her about Trici and the Enforcers, their deal and how he needed to lay low for a while, undetected.

"Trici Tora?" Felicia wondered. "She's just famous for being famous." She sneered.

"I thought as much from her appearance." Matt stated. His belly urged a question.

"Have you got any smokes?" He pleaded.

"Well yeah, you want one?" Felicia asked.

"Do I." He sighed of relief as she went to get her packet.

Matt went out onto the balcony and looked out over the city. He remembered flying high above these rooftops once. Now he felt weak and pathetic, knowing that the pain from spreading his wings would probably kill him if he tried.

He drew a deep breath. Felicia arrived with the cigarettes and they took one each. Matt savored the familiar taste and looked over at his newfound companion.

"Dewie." Matt began. "He isn't your real father, is he?"

Matt had noticed the differences. Felicia was short and somewhat round both to the face and body while Dewie, on the other hand, was tall and slim, like a pencil.

Felicia looked down with her eyes closed. Something about her face seemed to chime in Matt, he knew her from before, but not exactly from where.

"I don't remember them." She finally said.

"How come?"

"Dewie's told me some but..." This was obviously a painful subject.

"You don't have to tell me-" Matt suggested, but Felicia started anyway.

"Apparently they were killed. They were into some kind of... business, as it was later found out." She explained, flicking a piece of ash off her cigarette. "Dirty money and stuff like that. Dewie won't tell me any more."

"Damn, that's tough..." Matt grimaced, realizing he could feel empathy.

"I wish I could remember anything about them, but it all just goes black when I ponder it." She said emotionlessly. "Doctors call it shock and mental disorientation."

_Was that a tear falling?_

She tried to smile, but Matt felt a weird urge. Some kind of... pull? Something that needed to be done?

Following the feeling of compassion he opened his arms. She stepped forward and embraced him. It felt a little odd, but still like the right thing to do.

"Hey, don't worry." Matt said softly. "It's fine."

Her smile warmed him. Made him feel a little better. A little happier.

After that, they stared at the night in complete silence before saying goodnight and heading to their beds. Well, Matt had the couch, but anyway.

Whatever happened, Matt hoped that in the end, somehow would find peace for his soul and mind.

--

Notes:

Hey hey!

Now Matt's a double agent? Hmm. I'll see what deeds I'll have him do in the future... But for now you all just wait. There's a major twist coming up, Hehe.

Soon, my friends, soon...

/Matti

PS. The pillow part;

"Noo! I won't die! I CAN'T DIE!" He screamed. Felicia threw herself over his makeshift barricade, frantically yelling;

"FALCOOON PILLOW!" As the force of her cushion struck Matt, Dewie came into the room and yelped in fear.

"FELICIA!"

... Is actually just a revamped version of the popular Captain Falcon scene, where Falcon jumps out of his ship and punches the bad guy's face in, while Falcon's teammate calls his name out in a stupid Japanese tone. In case you didn't know. Just search for "Falcon Punch" on YouTube and you'll find it. DS.

**AND BY THE F*CKING WAY**! DROP A **REVIEW**! PRETTY PRETTY **PLEASE**!

I beg of you...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Reunion that makes no sense**

--

One clear day, the phone rang in Andrew McDougal's house. Matt the Bat picked it up and  
recognized the voice on the other end as Tilda's older brother, Kyo.

"Hey, uhh... Is Felicia there?" K asked.

"Well no, not right now." Matt answered. "Do you want me to take a message?"

"Wait, is this Matt?" K appeared to lighten up.

"Yeah, it sure is. What's up?"

"You'll never believe what came in the other day." K started mischievously.

"No, I can't." Matt replied. "But I bet you'll tell me."

"Uh huh, as a matter of fact, look out the window!" He laughed and Matt hurried to the opposite wall.

Outside he could see the city road, full of traffic and bland cars. Suddenly a flash of red lightning  
seemed to zoom by wherever there was room. The car tickled at Matt's memory.

He ran back to the phone. "What in the name of- ! Was that you!?"

K only laughed dastardly as a reply. Screeching tires were heard, both in the phone and outside the apartment.

"Come on down, Mr. Griffin!" K chuckled, but Matt was already on his way.

Matt jumped the last steps to get down faster and when he did, he laughed and cried at the same time.

"My... My car!" He smiled through a tear or two. "How did you- ?"

"Some guy said he found it at the car dump, ready to get squished. He took it and got it transferred to  
yours truly..." K spun the keys around his finger. "... and I fixed 'er all up."

"How did you know it was mine?" Matt quizzed, looking into the crimson Ford. "It has no plates or registry paper."

"Easy. Look at the dashboard."

Matt looked closer and gasped. Carved into the hard leather were three names, with the first letter in each  
forming the word "MAN" together.

"Matt... Andy... Nike..." He searched further and found another logo. "The Lawbreakers..."

He remembered the whole deal again.

K smiled and whistled, gaining Matt's attention. He tossed the keys to their new owner.

"If you excuse me..." Matt said while getting in. "I have some miles to catch up on."

VRR! VRRRRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm...

--

"All right, Matt. Let's get down to business." Trici said at their following meeting, arranged  
in the same, or a replica of the limo Matt remembered from yesterday.

"Finally." Matt stated, crossing his arms.

"This man..." Trici began slowly, sliding a photo of an aged man towards Matt. "... Is meddling with my business."

"Let me guess. You want me to put him out?" Matt said, masking his concern about how he knew this by instinct.

"Yeah. You should know how to handle this kind of situation, right?" She smirked devilishly, teasing at Matt's partially restored memory.

"Hmph." Matt uttered, turning away from Trici.

After a while of engine-hum accompanied silence, She spoke up.

"I like your hair." Trici carefully grabbed a part of Matt's long mane and ran it through her fingers.

"So do I." Matt muttered, tossing his head about and making her drop it.

She ignored this remark and nuzzled into the back of his head, making light moaning noises as she did.  
Matt, even though he didn't want to, had to agree that it felt quite arousing.

"Considering your attitude, you're really handsome." Trici whispered into his ear. It tickled, and he fluttered.

"And considering your looks, you're really disgusting." Matt dismissed her.

She pinched the sensitive skin on Matt's neck, making him grunt and writhe slightly in pain.

"Watch your mouth, batboy." She warned him, wagging his chin in her hand. "Remember who you're talking to."

"I wish I didn't." Matt retorted emptily and let her roam around his body until the car began slowing down.

"When you're done..." She said, sliding a note into his pocket. "Go to this building and ask for me."

"I might."

"If you still want to know who you are, you'd go. Otherwise, I'd just leak it to the press and you'd be  
hunted for your _hideous_ crimes..." She stretched the pronounciaton on the hideous part.

Matt opened the door and got out, sighing at the "woman" inside.

--

As he shot the first man down, Matt had somehow lost control of himself. Everything he did seemed to  
be driven by instinct, every dodged bullet, every successful hit...

After he stole the rifle it all got a little foggy. He remembered shooting people several times... Some in  
the head, some in the gut... A sting of pain as a sloppy move let a bullet graze his arm. Revenge. What a wonderful feeling.

Climbing stairs... Ducking for cover... Returning fire... Running and leaping... Several times laughing death  
right in the face as the bullets zoomed by beside his body...

All this seemed familiar to him. Almost homey. His mind wandered as his body worked on autopilot.  
It was like he was in some kind of armor, looking out from the inside.

Faces, never to move or display emotion again, frozen in fear as they fell to the ground, never to get up again.  
In his loneliness, Matt shivered.

No he didn't. The conscious Matt wanted to, but whoever was controlling his body refused.

Matt heard himself draw a surprised gasp as he pulled the reins to his body in order to stop.

With a heavy shotgun in his hands, he sulked over his victim with emotionless, robotic eyes.

"Well, you got me..." The old man said.

The gunfight had riddled the old facility with bullet holes. Matt was returning in control and he didn't like it.

His mouth moved involuntarily.

"Got any last words, old man?" Matt asked as if this whole thing wasn't happening. _What am I saying!?_

"None... Except maybe I should've begun all this earlier, so I could've died younger." He pondered.

"I'm sure age has no meaning in heaven." _What the hell is going on?_

"But it's what happens here in life that matters, eh?"

"Good point." Matt said, getting impatient. _Please, I can't handle this... Stop!_

"Oh well. This is your part. Do it while you may." _Good god..._

Matt did as he was told and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed for an eternity betwixt the metal walls.

He blew the smoke away with a small puff and kicked the body into the container underneath him.

"Whoever I was and wherever I've been these years..." He mumbled to himself. "The world hasn't changed at all in my absence."

He disposed of his stolen rifle and went outside. There, he fell to his knees and cried out loud.

_What kind of fucking monster am I!?_

--

"Starshot, also known as the Fame Dome." Storm answered the question.

"That's where the address leads?" Turbo looked at the note once more, inspecting the lip-print.

"If my geography holds up." Storm insured.

The three sat at the same table as always, discussing their next move.

"I think..." Matt started. "I think I need some time off... If that's OK?"

Turbo stared at him. "Why would you-"

"Of course." Storm cut him off by stomping on Turbo's foot underneath the table, making him notice Matt's condition.

His new associate seemed to be heavily burdened by what he had been forced to do.  
Matt had told them everything, about getting the mission, about losing control of his body and so forth...

"Thanks... I need some time to... reflect, over myself. Call it recuperate if you want to." Matt sighed solemnly.

He left quietly, leaving Storm and Turbo alone at the table.

"He's very troubled." Turbo stated. "I hope he'll be fine."

"I can't help but wonder what kind of person he was before all this?" Storm asked, staring into nowhere.

Drake came walking in, his headphones blaring out some kind of Ska music very loud.

He took a seat. "He wasss ssso cold when I walked by him, I literally ssshivered!"

"He's our our only lead on Trici." Storm stated.

"Whut?" Drake asked, realizing he couldn't hear a thing with the music so loud. He lowered the volume.

"Matt helps us out. He just needed some time to recover from what he's being made to do." Storm replied.

"But the lead he's got us is too good to delay." Turbo shot in. "We need to act now."

"The heck're you squeaks talkin' bout?" Someone added on their way in.

"Good evening, Trish." Turbo greeted the echidna who sat down with them.

She waved her hand lightly over them in salute.

"We were talking about Matt, our new lead on Trici." Storm informed the mighty woman.

"Who?"

"Matt. A tall bat wearing a black coat?"

"Oh yeah, that dude." Trish remembered. "He's hot."

Turbo rolled his eyes. Storm giggled and Drake poked his nose.

Nothing unusual going on at the Enforcer's HQ.

"Hey Turbo." Storm said, leaning closer to him. "I was wondering if maybe... you know..."

"What is it, Storm?" He asked, turning his ear at her.

"Maybe we could... Go and..." Storm either couldn't find the words, or she couldn't find the courage. So she gave up.

"Know what? Nevermind." She stood up and walked away.

"What got into her?" Turbo asked the remaining two when she'd left.

"You seriously can't see?" Trish asked awkwardly.

"Umm... No." Turbo answered.

"Sheesh!" Trish blurted and left as well.

"What in the world is going on?" Turbo stated into thin air. Drake looked up at him, but didn't try to answer.  
He was probably just as stumped.

A while of silence passed before Turbo got bored and asked;

"How's that egg thing working out for you?"

"Roossstersss don't lay eggsss." Drake stated proudly.

"Wow, Drake." Turbo's eyebrows went clean off his head. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Trish told me." He put his headphones back on just in time to miss the sound of Turbo falling off his chair.

--

"Are you sure you wanna go look for her today of all days?" Felicia asked Matt, who was sitting on her bed.  
He had just stated that he wanted to meet this Rouge person, whoever she was.

"Yeah, I feel... Ready." Matt shook his head while saying this to straighten his mind. "She's a link to my past and she might know something." _Maybe I don't want to find out... _He thought.

He wanted to straighten this whole deal up... But could he handle the truth? Perhaps leaving it as the past  
would be the optimal solution? _No. I have to do this._

"I looked up the bar, Bad Luck. It a usual nightclub as nightclubs go, but tonight it's theme night..."

"Meaning?" Matt asked impatiently.

"Well, since it's Rave night, skidding in with those tight jeans and motorcycle boots would make you stick out like a sore thumb."

"What's your point?" Matt demanded, but two minutes later, he realized what she meant.

"No. No, no and no." He protested. "I'm NOT putting those... those... THINGS on!"

"Come on, it's now or never." Felicia smiled, already having changed into a florescent pink t-shirt and long cargo shorts.

"Nope. Not gonna happen."

"You can wear your own clothes beneath, if you miss the tightness." She looked at him with starry eyes.  
"Pretty please? It's for your own best interest! You never know when you'll feel ready again."

Matt sighed for ten seconds straight before grabbing the pile of clothes and stepping into the bathroom.

When he came out, Felicia jumped of joy. He was wearing a long-sleeved tie dye shirt, really baggy pants  
with weird patterns on them and a military cap sporting several pins.

"Your hair's wrong, though..." Felicia said and began styling it. "There you go!"

"I can't see." Matt complained.

"It's supposed to be like that." Felicia snickered. "Now let's go!"

"Hey wait!" Matt yelled even as she dragged him out. "I changed my mind!"

--

"Felicia, I'm going to kill you when we get back." Matt stated emptily outside the bar. However,  
music was leaking out and causing their bodies to pulse the backbeat before the even were inside.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." She replied without glancing his way. "Princess was gonna come too, I wonder where she's at?"

"Staying away, if she knows what's best for her."

"Look nice or shut up." Felicia demanded, and since this was home ground for her, Matt piped down.

The lined showed no signs of being in a hurry. It barely moved at all, it seemed. At least not for Matt,  
whose patience was just as slowly running out.

After a few endless minutes of waiting in line, Princess arrived clad in the same kind of style both Matt and Felicia was in.

"Ooh, nice catch you got there Felicia!" She smiled at Matt.

"I'm NOT her boyfriend!" Matt bellowed desperately. Princess recognized the voice.

"Matt? Is that you?" She lifted his bangs and remembered his face. "Ha! Fancy meeting you here."

"You two know each other?" Felicia asked.

"I know her brother." Matt said. "That's all."

"Gee, don't be so cold. You might not be, but Felicia and I'm here to have some fun!"

The trio managed to pass the bouncer, but it took the combined efforts of both Felicia and Princess to keep Matt on the inside.

When he did, he wished more than ever that he'd stayed on the outside.

Whatever song that was playing, was hurting his poor hearing and the flashing lights threatened to blind him is h  
kept his eyes open. But, he was here to look for someone and walking around eyes closed would make the task quite more difficult.

The bar itself, a mahogany structure, was currently not very populated. This was probably because of the "catchy" song that was booming.

_There are people who actually LIKE this kind of... noise!? _Matt cried slowly in his mind.

He shot the barkeeper a desperate look and received a glass of liquor. The barkeep smiled as Matt bent down  
in order to get the killer sound frequencies out of ear-height.

However, the noise faded slightly and paved way for the DJ's dark voice.

"AWRIGHT LADEEZ N' GENTZ! WHAZZAP!?" He screamed, nearly loud enough to make the microphone he was holding unnecessary.

"HERE'S ONE FOR YOU VETERANS OUT THERE! LET'S DO IT OLD SCHOOL!"

Matt raised his ears in surprise. A familiar keyboard reached his mind, followed by a choir of "Danger! Oh yeah..."

He smirked devilishly to himself.

_Europe. _His favorite band. A wave of musical memories rolled over him and he felt refreshed.

"Dan- ger on the track! Something told me there were strang- ers on block!" Joey Tempest sang.

Matt happily chimed along, suddenly knowing the entire song by heart..

But soon, this climax of music ended and left Matt with the same ruckus he hadn't missed. He saw Felicia  
shakin' on the dancefloor. Sweeping his drink in one last gulp, he strode over to her.

"This 'music' is hurting my ears!" Matt screamed, trying to make Felicia hear him.

"WHAT!?" She replied. "WHATEVER! JUST DO WHAT YOU CAME FOR, OR SOMETHING!"

"Hmph." Matt muttered.

"WHAT!?" Felicia asked again. "REMEMBER, A SHORT BAT WITH WHITE HAIR!"

Matt made his way through the crowd to get closer to the stage, where the DJ had set up his massive array of noisecrafting tools.

He looked around, thanking god for being taller than usual, and noticed a bat matching the "advanced"  
description he'd been given. She walked through a door which automatically closed behind her.

_Must be electronically locked... _Matt thought, and scurried over to it.

There was a small slot to insert a key card. Matt realized he didn't have one, and that he didn't have enough  
time to steal one because she might get away.

So he tried a more brutal approach, jamming his smuggled switchblade into the poor slot and raping it unforgivingly  
until the door opened.

_Piece of cake!_

Matt walked inside and forced the door shut behind him.

In front of him was a flight of stairs leading up. The pounding beat could still be heard clearly as he slowly and  
soundlessly strode the steps.

He was met by a set of doors, which he identified as individual dressing rooms for the dancers. At the far end,  
a door labeled "Rouge" closed.

Matt, who was now sure he had hit the jackpot, leaned onto the door silently listening for any movement.

None. So she had left? What was she doing?

His logic failed him, so he decided to take a wild chance and slowly twisted the doorknob.

A bullet zoomed in and hit the wall beside his head, making him close the door on instinct.

"I don't do private shows." The voice sounded so familiar, Matt's heart skipped a beat and he swallowed hard.

"I'm not here for that." He stated coolly, trying to masked the shiver he was feeling..

A silence ensued. Not the usual kind, though. This silence was thin and deadly, like a razor.

Finally, she broke it.

"Who are you?" The voice asked uncertainly.

"I don't mean any harm." Matt replied. _At least I think I don't..._

"What do you want me?" She asked, trace of worry in her voice... Or could it be fear?

"May I come in?"

"How about no?" She said. "How do I know you're not armed?"

"If I put my hands in first, will you promise not to shoot them?" Matt asked, placing his trust in the familiar voice.

His heart was beating so rapidly it ached in his chest. He needed to see this person, right now.

"... All right."

Matt took a deep breath and stuck his hands through the door. He expanded the gap gradually with his foot until  
he was met by a pair of scared eyes.

"Oh god..." Rouge dropped her gun and walked up to Matt with slow, careful steps.

"I- it's you..." Matt uttered. Reaching out for her. His vision was fading, his ears were ringing and he had no idea of  
what was going on inside his head.

"How can you be..." She touched his cheek lightly, but pulled away when she felt the heat from his body.

She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. No, not this time...

"Please, tell me..." Matt pleaded. "What happened... ?"

"I ki- I mean I thought I..." She stuttered.

"You did... what?" Matt sharpened his eyes into hers. She needed to think fast. Really fast.

What she said right then derailed Matt's head. How could it be true? How could he have forgotten?

"I thought I'd lost you..." She threw her arms around him. "Where've you been all these years?"

"Wh- wha?" Matt gulped, unable to make any coherent sounds.

"Don't you remember?" She said, looking into his deep gray eyes. "We were married..."

--

Notes:

So finally I decided to update this peice of fuck. Not that anyone will read it but anyway...

This is getting quite interesting. I had thought up the twist itself long before I wrote this, so I do say: I feels good to have it on paper...

Well, don't forget to tell me what you think, people! I can't make it better if you don't point out the flaws.

Criticism is welcome, as long as you keep it civilized. Which means no attacks against me as a person. Because I'm 99% sure that you have no idea who I am in real life.

Keep it up, HHC fans! (What a big word :) )

/Matti


	7. Chapter 7

So I finally decided to finish this old thing... For the love of god, review!

**Chapter 7: If it makes you happy**

--

"We... lived here?" Matt said, looking around the mansion-sized hall as he entered it.

Rouge nodded. "I still can't believe you're here again... I thought you died..." She said(lied) solemnly.

"I'm... sorry for leaving." Matt tried, making Rouge smile.

"I'll show you around later." Rouge said, heading up the stairs. "Coming?"

Matt flinched. "Ahh, If it's ok, I'd like to spend some time alone over this... revelation." He said nervously.

"All right... But I'm up here if you need me. Just call." On the outside she looked calm and cool, but inside she was boiling out of surprise and fear.

She needed some time alone too, so thank goodness for coincidences.

Matt paced into the living room, trying to gather memories but finding none. The were no pictures of him, but some shelves held photos of Rouge in different... situations.

_She must be a model, or something... All these pictures of herself... _He kept walking and found the kitchen.

It was almost royally decorated, all the walls were riddled with spice jars and utensils. He opened the fridge and found, along with usual things like milk and vegetables, some bag-in-box wines that he helped himself of tasting.

"Hmm, these must've been expensive." He thought, savoring the taste. "Too bad she's chilled it."

He stepped into another chamber, which looked like it could be the guest room. Matt settled down onto the bed. He looked at the ceiling and pondered his current state.

_Well, here I am. In my house that I have no memory of. With a wife I have no memory of. A life without a memory. _He chuckled.

_I miss the couch at Felicia and Dewie's pad now... Shit, I gotta return these clothes. Better head out early..._

He could barely finish thinking before sleep found it's way into his head.

--

"Where the hell did you go!?" Felicia yelled. "I thought you skipped on me again!"

"Please, calm down. Let me explain." Matt began telling her of what he had found out last night. About Rouge, "his" house and everything.

"So you were married?" Felicia asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yeah, I... guess." Matt rubbed his head. "At least I remember Rouge... The strong feelings I have for her must be..." He couldn't speak the word. Why did it still feel wrong?

"... Love?" Felicia filled in. Matt nodded. "Aww, how cute!"

"That's easy for you to say. I'm still not sure." Matt looked down.

"I met this guy... His name was Shadow." Felicia started as well.

"Wait, wasn't he dead?" Even Matt knew that story. It'd been all over the news until recently.

"I guess not, he said something about laying low for a while." She smiled.

"Let me explain..."

--

The black hedgehog closed in on her slowly, as if he'd chosen his target a long time ago. His eyes were concealed beneath a cap, but he seemed familiar, somehow. A picture she'd seen?

She opened her mouth to speak, but he got first.

"You know where I can find a bar?" He asked in a low murmur.

Set slightly off by the surprise, it took awhile before the answer came.

"Uhh, no..." Felicia tilted her head to try and see beneath the cap, but he turned away.

"Ah well. Thanks anyway." He began walking, but she stopped him.

"Have I seen you before?"

"I don't think so." He dismissed.

"That one doesn't work on me." She smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a challenge." Felicia snickered.

"Hmph."

"What's your name then?" She tried. "I'm Felicia."

"Please, leave me alone." He tried walking off again, but Felicia spoke after him;

"What, is it Oglvie? Don't worry Cornelius. I won't bully you for that." She smiled ironically.

"Sigh, it's not like that." He began. "I'm Shadow."

"Haha, taking names from celebrities is outdated, dude."

"No, it's true. Don't tell anyone." He removed the cap and displayed his flamingly orange eyes.

At first Felicia's brain blacked out. Then she gasped. "Cool..." She stated, trying to remain clam.

"Are you finished?" Shadow asked impatiently.

"Wanna go look for a bar?" Felicia invited as if she hadn't heard him.

In his eyes, she look so pure and innocent. Something was troubling her, but then again, something was troubling him too. He couldn't picture her running around yelling about this incident. So, he firmly decided:

"All right, but don't tell anyone because I'm supposed to be dead right now."

He had his angry composure, but remained calm and nice towards Felicia as they walked down the street...

--

"That sounds like bullshit, if you ask me." Matt stated.

"But it's true! He said he wanted to try living without the pressure of hero-ness." Felicia explained.

Matt sighed. "All right, what did you do afterwards?"

"We talked and talked, you know... He's nowhere near as stiff and evil as TV tries to make him." She blushed.

"Stiff?" Matt blurted.

Felicia backhanded Matt. "You perv."

"...Sorry."

"Anyway, we're gonna meet again next weekend, I can't wait!" She bounced around the apartment in exaltation.

Matt watched her for a while and knew what she was feeling. Sadly, he couldn't identify this with himself and Rouge... He sank his head onto the table before a thought struck him.

"Hey, do you know the way to Starshot?"

--

"Uhh, Hi. I'm looking for Trici." Matt told the receptionist. Felicia looked around the exceptionally big casino building and oohed at almost everything.

"Everybody's looking for her." The goat sneered.

"My name's Matt, I've got an appointment."

He checked his papers and nodded, pointing to the elevator and muttering "Top floor..."

"Come one, let's go." He beckoned for Felicia to follow him as they went inside the crowded space.

Matt pressed the button and the elevator began playing some funky tune as they stared into the heavy doors.

Several minutes later they arrived at their destination with a "ding" from the elevator.

As they stepped out, a muscular fox with unbelievably shiny hair came forward, pointing a double-barrel at them.

"Hey there." He smirked. "Name's Haywire. Please follow me."

They were ushered to a room where Trici sat behind an empty desk, looking regal.

Trici slid across her desk and walked towards Matt, since Felicia had to stay by the door.

"Hello again, Batboy..." She began. Her freezing eyes glanced over his body. "You brought a friend?" Trici motioned towards the door, where Felicia was.

"It's my partner, Felicia. She helps me out." Matt explained.

"Hmm." Trici investigated her up and down. "Isn't she a bit young for you, Matt?"

"She's not _that_ kind of partner..." Matt said, gritting his teeth. He was already getting tired of this damn lioness.

"Very well." Trici said, stepping back to her desk.

"I came for the information." Matt stated demandingly.

"Really? I couldn't guess." She replied coolly.

"I did what you told me, now cut the crap and spill the beans." Matt said, angrier than before.

Trici sighed loudly, muttering "Men..."

She tossed a file at him and he caught it smoothly.

The first page had two photos, taken many years ago. One carrying a red echidna with a funky haircut and the other a green hedgehog he recalled looking like Turbo.

Their names were written beneath them...

"Andogerase, Nikolai..." Matt said out loud. "Andy & Nike..."

He dropped the file as if he'd gotten terrified. He remembered his two comrades now.

His only friends. They had done everything together, but he also knew that they'd met a gruesome fate, and that it had been his fault. His rage boiled, though not as strong as it once did.

"What did we do...?" Matt asked emptily.

"You killed people. On demand." Trici explained, snickering. "Doesn't that make you feel great?"

Matt instinctively grabbed his switchblade and hurled it at Trici. It hit the chair behind her just an inch from her neck, cutting some of that beautiful hair off.

"Wha-" Trici uttered. "The _nerve_..." Matt regretted his descicion immediately.

She waved at Haywire and he rushed up to Matt.

Before he had a single chance of defending himself, Haywire picked him up and tossed him across the room effortlessly.

Matt landed on his aching wings, making him screech in pain.

"Don't ever do that again." Trici sank down to Matt's level. "I'm in charge. Never forget that."

She left him on the floor and sat down on her desk, trying to cover her missing hair.

"Get him out." Trici commanded. Haywire lifted him again and tossed him back into the corridor he came from.

--

"Oh my god, are you OK?" Felicia helped Matt to his feet and supported him.

"Yeah... I think so..." He grunted, gabbing his hurting stomach. He turned and sneered at the closed door he just "exited".

The two slowly made their way out, Matt firmly clasping the journal in his hand.

"What hurts most..." Matt began. Felicia turned to him. "...is that I lost my knife."

Someone bumped into them and they both lost balance.

"What the hell! You again!?" Izzy scowled. "You're not getting away this time!"

She kicked for Felicia, who managed to bring Matt with her into a roll. They slid out of the way and Felicia got up.

Fluff came running over to Matt and ducked down to him.

"She's really clumsy, please excuse her..." Fluff muttered as she helped him up. She noticed how angry he looked.

"Umm, are you all right?" She didn't get an answer. Matt simply walked by her and over to the raging fight between cat and dog- err, wolf.

Izzy tried a left hook, but Felicia ducked. Fueled by rage from the miss, she attempted another punch but found that she couldn't move her hand.

Turning her head, she saw a very pissed off bat holding her hand firmly in his own, squeezing tighter for each passing second.

"Someone nearly killed me for nothing just a minute ago, and you start a fight over bumping into someone!?" He yelled, gripping her hand harder. Izzy squealed.

"S- sorry! Please l- let go!" She pleaded.

Matt finally released his death-grip on her and she crumpled to the floor, holding her likely broken hand. Matt apologized and limped back to Fluff and Felicia, who were standing with their jaws on the floor. (Not literally.)

"Did he just... Cripple... Izzy?" Fluff uttered. "No-one's ever done that before..."

Matt arched an eyebrow at the whining cat on the floor and turned to Fluff.

"There's a first time for everything." Matt stated blankly. "Come on, Felicia."

"Huh? Oh, OK." She also turned to Fluff. "Sorry again."

"Never mind that, she'll probably be OK..." Fluff replied. "But what are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Matt, on business." Felicia said. Matt waved emptily.

"Oh, so you're Matt. Trici talks about you all the time." Fluff said, shaking his hand.

"Hold on a sec..." Felicia realized. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"We work for Trici..." Izzy moaned, trying to get up. "I'm gonna... get you..." She blurted at Matt, who didn't pay any attention to her remarks.

"But you don't need to worry about that, as long as we're on the same side." Fluff smiled reassuringly. Felicia nodded, but Matt was quiet.

"We should get going." He stated, finally making a sound.

"All right, see ya." Fluff dismissed, helping Izzy up.

"Next time I see him..." Izzy said, after they'd left. "... I'm gonna kill them. Especially him."

"Why's he so special?" Fluff asked.

"Didn't you notice?" Izzy smirked. "He was inexcusably sexy."

--

Rouge thought the same thing when he stepped into her house for the what, eighth time? He'd been visiting for a week now, and he seemed to look better every time he walked inside the door. Those tight jeans, that long hair, those sincere gray eyes...

Rouge shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts.

She had been trying to avoid him, to save herself from all the lying. Though lying was nothing new to her, something about this whole thing had begun aching in her chest for each fake memory she planted his his cute head.

In fear of blowing the the cover, she simply tried to avoid the questions. But he seemed to have something special on his mind this time...

"Hey." He said, emptily. Almost sadly.

"Hi sugar." Rouge greeted automatically. She looked up from her book and saw his downtrodden attitude.

"Is something wrong?" She asked worryingly. _Please god, say he hasn't found out!_

"I was just thinking..." Matt replied, sitting down across from her. He put a journal file neatly on the table. _Oh shit. _She thought. _I'm dead-_

"Have you seen these people?" He asked quietly and flipped the first page. The pictures were familiar, of course. Back then, Rouge had trained to remember the face every target she'd taken, which meant she still recognized them as his "deceased" teammates.

"I must've read this file though a hundred time just these last days... It feels safe reading it. I really remember them... Do you know who they were?"

"Why, yes... Those were your friends, right?" She said, feeling slightly dizzy. The pressure was getting to her.

He sat frozen to his seat, looking emptily into space.

"Did you know I-" He cut himself off, but tried again. "I did some horrible things..."

"If you mean the hired killer business, the federals told me about it when you disappeared..." She made up quickly.

"Oh, good..." He said, but thought a while. "You're not mad at me? Not at all?"

"I'm just glad you're OK... You can't believe how hard it was to hear about what happened to your friends, and then they told me you were nowhere to be found I feared the worst..." Rouge had been told that she was a good actor, and this was one of the times you didn't have a margin of error.

"I- I'm... sorry." Matt replied weakly, hiding his face in his hand. "For everything I did that I can't remember yet..."

"Don't worry, sweetie." Rouge comforted, slowly walking over to him. She touched his cheek lightly and he grabbed her hand, as if seeking security in the touch. "I'm sure it'll come back to you... Sometime."

He didn't say anything. Not a sound escaped him.

"I think I need to tell you about something..." He began, after a long moment.

Matt told her all about what he was doing with Trici and the Enforcers. About the double agent thing, about the people of respective side, what he had to do in order to get the info from Trici...

Rouge looked at him sadly, feeling immense pity. _Poor thing, he's really struggling... All that just for his memory? I could tell him straight out right now..._

Her heart got the best of her and she opened her mouth to speak, but quickly withdrew when she realized.

_If I told him I'm the one who killed him, what will that do with his head? I'm already hitting him hard by basing this whole thing on one little lie..._

"Rouge?" He asked. "Are you there?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Just lost myself in thought for a second."

She decided to postpone the issue at least a little longer.

"And by the way..." Matt said as she was leaving for bed. "... I'm sorry for not being the same."

She smiled warmly at him and agreed emotionally.

_I can't believe he actually was such a caring soul... What could've hardened him to suppressing the gentle side of himself? He really isn't the same cold, murderous person I knew those years ago..._

_He's so sweet when he makes coffee in the morning or asks me about the house, or things we used to do or anything... I wish I didn't have to make it all up... I wish it hadn't been my fault..._

She stopped in her tracks and made an awkward realization.

_How the hell is all this gonna end?_

--

Notes:

So finally she starts feeling bad for the guy and not just trying to avoid him! Whoopie!

And violence! Those of you who thought this story is a slower than it's prequel, you're fully right. It is supposed to circle more around the relationships, reactions and thoughts of the characters, which means cutting out some of the gory parts.

But don't fret! There will be more gunfire coming up. That and big teeth marks ;)

/Matti


End file.
